


The use of Dragon’s Breath during the Age of the Iron Throne

by kitkatkaylie



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Formal language, Gen, Gunpowder, History, What if?, Written like a textbook entry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:40:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25482547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitkatkaylie/pseuds/kitkatkaylie
Summary: A ‘what if?’ looking at the possibility of how things might have changed had gunpowder been discovered in Westeros.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	The use of Dragon’s Breath during the Age of the Iron Throne

Dragon’s Breath was first discovered in Westeros* in the second century after the conquest**, during the reign of King Aegon VI. Such a substance was initially dismissed by the Alchemist’s Guild as ineffective due to its reduced destructive power when compared to Wildfire, however after the failed ‘dragons’ which destroyed the Kingswood its properties were investigated further.

Quite by accident it was discovered that mixing various salts with the Dragon’s Breath before burning provided a bright coloured flame, and that the addition of iron shavings gave the impression that stars had been captured within it. The ladies of the Royal Court were enamoured with the effect and demanded that the pyromancers discover some way so that they may enjoy the effect. When tubes of the powder were attached to arrows, ignited, and shot into the sky, the resulting explosion was said to look like the breath of a dragon, and thus the substance was named***.

It did not take long for the military uses of Dragon’s Breath to be discerned, with said arrows being fired by both Targaryen and Blackfyre forces during the rebellions, leading to great loss of life and destruction of property on both sides of the conflict.

The substance was used to greatest effect in Dorne and the Reach, with a proven ineffectiveness in the Stormlands, Riverlands, North, and Iron Islands due to its failure to work upon becoming wet. These pitfalls prevented its popularity from spreading over the entire Seven Kingdoms, as did its denunciation by the Faith of the Seven and the Citadel for the mutilations it caused. 

By the time of the reign of King Aerys II Dragon’s Breath had fallen out of popularity, with its uses limited to entertainment, most notably at the Tourney of Harrenhal,and to providing a more merciful end to those who had been sentenced to death by burning. One of the most horrific acts of King Aerys’ reign according to some scholars was the denial of this mercy to Lord Rickard Stark upon his sentencing, a denial that surely had an impact on the sheer size of the rebellion led by Robert Baratheon which overthrew the Targaryen Dynasty.

During King Robert’s reign Dragon’s Breath fell even further out of fashion with the immediate outlawing of all burnings within Westeros. While still used as an entertainment during tourneys and festivals, the substance was often referred to by the Dornish name of Sun’s Spears to distance it from its Targaryen legacy.

During the War of the Five Kings and the subsequent reign of King Tommen Baratheon, Dragon’s Breath was all but forgotten, with no mention of it in the histories until the War for the Dawn.

Dragon’s Breath played an integral part during the Battle of the Godswood where Prince Theon of House Greyjoy and his men used it to great effectiveness to hold off the Night King’s armies until the Slayer of the Night King, Arya of House Stark, was able to kill him. It has been said that without the Dragon’s Breath the Battle of the Godswood would have had many more losses than it did, as it was only four men died.

Queen Cersei Lannister then used Dragon’s Breath with a level of success to defend Kings Landing from Daenerys Targaryen. It was used to ensure the bolts from the scorpion’s along the walls were powerful enough to pierce the hide of a dragon, enabling one dragon to be killed before it could truly attack the city. Unfortunately for the last Queen to sit upon the Iron Throne and the Dragon Queen herself, the final dragon managed to ignite a cache of Dragon’s Breath and Wildfore beneath the Red Keep, incinerating both Queens, the dragon, and most of the city. 

With its destructive power fully realised, the production of Dragon’s Breath was suspended for the reigns of King Bran Stark of the Southern Kingdoms, and Queen Sansa Stark of the Northern Kingdom, and so ends the tale of Dragon’s Breath during the Age of the Iron Throne.

* * *

*Various Dornish sources claim that a similar substance, that they call Sun’s spears, was first developed in their lands a half century before the Alchemist’s Guild first reported Dragon’s Breath, however such claims have never been proven.

**There have also been numerous sources claiming that Dragon’s Breath was first discovered by an Ashaiian branch of the Alchemist’s Guild during their hunt for an even more destructive substance than Wildfire, however the claims of ‘Demon-Fyre’ have also never conclusively been proven.

*** It has been reported that the explosions actually looked like the blooms of dragon’s breath flowers that grew in the gardens from which they were first viewed, however this has been dismissed as fanciful nonsense by all reputable sources.


End file.
